German national soccer team rejects fans shouting Nazi-era chants

(JTA) — The coach and players on Germany’s men’s national soccer team condemned fans who traveled to the World Cup qualifier for shouting Nazi-era chants.

Fans chanted “Sieg Heil” on Friday during a World Cup qualifier on Friday in Prague. The German team beat the Czech Republic 2-1. The fans also whistled and chanted during a moment of silence for two Czech officials who died.

“I’m full of anger and I’m very much shaken to see that some so-called fans use football, and an international match, for their deplorable demonstrations,” German team manager Joachim Loew said during a news conference. “They bring shame on our country.”

Loew said he hoped the raucous fans would be sanctioned. “We don’t want them, we’re not their national team, and they’re not our fans. Given our history, it’s very important for us to represent our country in a dignified fashion and its values of tolerance, respect and openness to the world. These troublemakers demean this image,” Loew said.

The national team responded to the chants by refusing to applaud the visiting fans after the match as is customary, the AFP news agency reported.

The match took place on the anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, which started World War II.

POPULAR CATEGORY

Jspace News is one of the fastest growing online Jewish newspapers, founded in 2011 to document news on Israel, the Middle East, and Jewish world at large. It was established to provide a single source where the entire Jewish and Israeli community could come together in conversation.